Cm In Range Research Articles

Correlation Between N-Demethyl Imatinib Trough Concentration and Serious Adverse Reactions in Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Imatinib is the first-line treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumors; however, the clinical prognosis and adverse reactions of patients vary owing to individualized discrepancies in plasma exposure. To determine the safe interval for steady-state plasma trough concentrations (C min ) of imatinib and its active metabolite, N-demethyl imatinib (NDI), 328 plasma samples from 273 patients treated with imatinib were retrospectively analyzed. Imatinib C min and NDI C min were tested, and adverse reactions were recorded. The association between imatinib C min , NDI C min , and serious adverse reactions was evaluated. The C min range of imatinib was 209.5-4950.0 ng/mL, with the mean value and SD of 1491.8 ± 731.4 ng/mL. The C min range of NDI was 80.0-2390.0 ng/mL with the mean value and SD of 610.8 ± 281.5 ng/mL. NDI C min was positively correlated with imatinib C min , whereas the ratio of NDI C min to imatinib C min (NDI C min /imatinib C min ) was negatively correlated with imatinib C min . Univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the treatment objective, daily dose, imatinib C min , NDI C min , and imatinib C min + NDI C min were significantly associated with serious adverse reactions. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that NDI C min was an independent risk factor for serious adverse reactions, with a threshold of 665 ng/mL. NDI C min was an independent risk factor for serious adverse reactions, with a threshold of 665 ng/mL. Monitoring NDI C min was beneficial for the rational application of imatinib and individualized treatment of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Does therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of trough concentrations suffice for optimizing preemptive therapy with ganciclovir of cytomegalovirus infections in non-renal solid organ transplant recipients?

The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between ganciclovir exposure and clinical efficacy and/or safety in non-renal solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients receiving preemptive therapy with ganciclovir/valganciclovir and undergoing therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)-guided dosing optimization. Non-renal SOT recipients admitted to IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria of Bologna receiving preemptive therapy with ganciclovir or valganciclovir for active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and who underwent at least one TDM were included. Desired ganciclovir Cmin range was set at 1-3mg/L, and average ganciclovir trough concentrations (Cmin ) were calculated for each patient. Reduced CMV viral load below the lower limit of quantification (LLQ) at 30 days and occurrence of myelotoxicity were selected as the primary outcome. Univariate analysis was performed by comparing patients with average Cmin below or above 1 or 3mg/L. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to identify the average ganciclovir Cmin cut-off predictive for clinical efficacy or toxicity. Twenty-nine out of 89 retrieved patients met the inclusion criteria, with a median (interquartile [IQR]) baseline CMV viral load of 27,163 copies/mL (IQR 13159.75-151340.25 copies/mL). Reduced CMV viral load below the LLQ at 30 days was found in 17 patients (58.6%). No difference was found in the primary outcome between patients showing average Cmin below or above 1mg/L (100.0%vs. 53.8%; p= .25) and/or 3mg/L (65.2%vs. 33.3%; p = .20). ROC analysis did not allow to identify an average Cmin cut-off predictive of clinical efficacy or toxicity. No clear relationship between ganciclovir Cmin and neither CMV eradication nor safety issues was identified.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Iranian population: A population-based study in northwestern of Iran.

Background: Overweight and obesity and its problems are the most important health and nutrition issues of adolescents in developed and developing countries. This study aimed to determine prevalence of overweight and obesity among studied population.Design and Methods: This Persian Cohort Study is a population- based study of 10,000 men and women, aged 35-70 years in northwest of Iran. Anthropometric parameters such as height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured by interviewers. Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were used to assess the overweight and obesity.Results: The mean age of all participants was 49.1±8.7 and 56.1% of them were female. The mean height of participants was 162.5±9.4 kg in range 126-196 and the mean weight of them was 78.5±13.1 cm in range 40-164. According to BMI, 42.7% of all participants had overweight and 45% had obesity. According to the WHR, 71.8% of male and 97.9% of female had high WHR (abdominal obesity).Conclusions: Results showed that the rate of overweight and obesity in studied people was more than country rate. So programing for raising their Quality of Life and life style and also change their poor nutritional habits is essential in area healthy people. Significance for public health Overweight and obesity and its problems are the most important health and nutrition issues of adolescents in developed and developing countries. This study aimed to determine prevalence of overweight and obesity among studied population. This Persian Cohort Study is a population-based study of 10,000 men and women, aged 35-70 years in northwest of Iran. Anthropometric parameters such as height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured by interviewers. Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were used to assess the overweight and obesity. Results showed that the rate of overweight and obesity in studied people was more than country rate. So, programing for raising their Quality of Life (QoL) and lifestyle and also change their poor nutritional habits is essential in area healthy people.

Using Multinomial Logistic Regression for Modeling Obesity and Overweight Among People in Urban Area of Ardabil City, Ardabil, Iran

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health and increase the risk of more diseases in future. Body mass index (BMI) is a good method for measure the overweight and obesity and waist to hip ration is a good index for measure the abdominal obesity. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 1316 people who selected randomly from Ardabil city. Demographic data and anthropometric parameters such as age,sex, height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured by interviewers. Data were analyzed by statistical methods such as t-test, chisquare test, Pearson correlation and multinomial logistic regression model in SPSS version 21. Results: The mean age of the people was 28.5±7.4 years of them, 63.1% were in age group 20-30 years. The mean height of the samples was 162.7±8.6 cm in range 110-194 and the mean weight of them was 68.9±11.7 kg in range 43-111. The mean BMI of patients was 25.7. According to BMI, 35.6% of all samples had overweight and 18.6% had obesity. According to the WHR, 28.1% of male and 22.1% of female had high WHR (abdominal obesity). The prevalence of abdominal obesity based WHR was 25.2%. Conclusion: By using Multinomial Logistic Regression we showed that the relation between BMI and Age was positive and significant and by increasing one year at age of people, the rate of overweight increased 13% and the rate of obesity increased 17% in compare with normal patients.

Analysis of a Bistatic Ground-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar System and Indoor Experiments

Recent advancement of satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques require more sophisticated system configurations such as the use of bistatic antennas or multi-frequencies. A ground-based experiment is a cost-effective and efficient way to evaluate those new configurations especially in the early stage of the system development. In this paper, a ground-based synthetic aperture radar (GB-SAR) system was constructed and operated in a bistatic mode at Ku-band where a receiving antenna (Rx) follows a transmitting antenna (Tx) separated by a baseline B. A new bistatic GB-SAR focusing algorithm was developed by modifying a conventional range-Doppler algorithm (RDA), and its performance has been evaluated by comparing the results with those from a back-projection algorithm (BPA). The results showed good performance of RDA at far range approaching nominal resolutions of 9.4 cm in range and 4.5 cm in azimuth, but limited quality at near range due to the approximation used in RDA. Signals from three trihedral corner reflectors (CR) reduced with increasing B, showing a typical bidirectional scattering behavior of CR. This GB-SAR system will be a testbed for new SAR imaging configurations with variations in antenna positions and target properties.

Clinical efficacy and safety in patients treated with teicoplanin with a target trough concentration of 20\u2009\u03bcg/mL using a regimen of 12\u2009mg/kg for five doses within the initial 3\u2009days

BackgroundA trough concentration (Cmin) ≥20 μg/mL of teicoplanin is recommended for the treatment of serious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. However, sufficient clinical evidence to support the efficacy of this target Cmin has not been obtained. Even though the recommended high Cmin of teicoplanin was associated with better clinical outcome, reaching the target concentration is challenging.MethodsPharmacokinetics and adverse events were evaluated in all eligible patients. For clinical efficacy, patients who had bacteremia/complicated MRSA infections were analyzed. The primary endpoint for clinical efficacy was an early clinical response at 72–96 h after the start of therapy. Five dosed of 12 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg was administered as an enhanced or conventional high loading dose regimen, respectively. The Cmin was obtained at 72 h after the first dose.ResultsOverall, 512 patients were eligible, and 76 patients were analyzed for treatment efficacy. The proportion of patients achieving the target Cmin range (20–40 μg/mL) by the enhanced regimen was significantly higher than for the conventional regimen (75.2% versus 41.0%, p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, Cmin ≥ 20 μg/mL was an independent factor for an early clinical response (odds ratio 3.95, 95% confidence interval 1.25–12.53). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of adverse events between patients who did or did not achieve a Cmin ≥ 20 μg/mL.ConclusionA target Cmin ≥ 20 μg/mL might improve early clinical responses during the treatment of difficult MRSA infections using 12 mg/kg teicoplanin for five doses within the initial 3 days.

In-Depth Verification of Sentinel-1 and TerraSAR-X Geolocation Accuracy Using the Australian Corner Reflector Array

This article shows how the array of corner reflectors (CRs) in Queensland, Australia, together with highly accurate geodetic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques-also called imaging geodesy-can be used to measure the absolute and relative geometric fidelity of SAR missions. We describe, in detail, the end-to-end methodology and apply it to TerraSAR-X Stripmap (SM) and ScanSAR (SC) data and to Sentinel-1 interferometric wide swath (IW) data. Geometric distortions within images that are caused by commonly used SAR processor approximations are explained, and we show how to correct them during postprocessing. Our results, supported by the analysis of 140 images across the different SAR modes and using the 40 reflectors of the array, confirm our methodology and achieve the limits predicted by theory for both Sentinel-1 and TerraSAR-X. After our corrections, the Sentinel-1 residual errors are 6 cm in range and 26 cm in azimuth, including all error sources. The findings are confirmed by the mutual independent processing carried out at University of Zurich (UZH) and German Aerospace Center (DLR). This represents an improvement of the geolocation accuracy by approximately a factor of four in range and a factor of two in azimuth compared with the standard Sentinel-1 products. The TerraSAR-X results are even better. The achieved geolocation accuracy now approaches that of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based survey of the CRs positions, which highlights the potential of the end-to-end SAR methodology for imaging geodesy.

Tide Gauge Records Show That the 18.61‐Year Nodal Tidal Cycle Can Change High Water Levels by up to 30 cm

AbstractThe lunar nodal cycle, produced by the varying declination of the Moon over a period of 18.61 years, drives changes in tidal amplitude globally. However, constraining the range of changes in tidal amplitude that can be expected over a nodal cycle from real observations is rarely considered for coastal hazard planning. In this study, we use hourly tide gauge observations with record lengths &gt;19 years from 574 stations distributed worldwide to examine the contribution of the nodal modulation to monthly high water levels. Our results show that the influence of the lunar nodal cycle on high water levels is largest at tide gauge stations located in the Gulf of Tonkin, English Channel, and Bristol Channel, amounting up to 30 cm in range, suggesting that in the coming decades the impact of the nodal cycle on high water levels in those regions could be greater than that of global mean sea level rise, which is up to 17 cm by 2030, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change fifth assessment report projections. We also examine the phase of nodal modulation and show that the estimated phases exhibit two clusters: one cluster (111° ± 10°) corresponds with the locations having a diurnal form of tides, whereas the other cluster (−59° ± 11°) corresponds with the locations exhibiting a semidiurnal form of tides. Nodal modulation in the diurnal and semidiurnal locations will peak again in 2025 and 2034, respectively, resulting in enhanced potential for coastal hazard in the respective regions.

Effect of environmental factors on chlorophyll a fluorescence of the fen orchid Liparis loeselii in European Union priority protected habitat 7210* Calcareous fens with Cladium mariscus and species of the Caricion davallianae

The fen orchid Liparis loeselii (L.) Rich. is one of the most endangered orchids of European wetlands and is listed in the Habitat Directive. In its range L. loeselii occupies different wetland habitats with fluctuating water level. A successful conservation of L. loeselii is based on the availability and conservation of suitable habitats. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of ongoing changes in habitat environmental conditions on L. loeselii. The aim of the study was to find out the effect of environmental factors on chlorophyll a fluorescence of fen orchid L. loeselii in EU protected habitat 7210* Calcareous fens with Cladium mariscus and species of the Caricion davallianae near Lake Engure in Latvia. Such environmental factors as vegetation cover, impact of zoogenic factor, temperature, precipitation, and habitat water-level fluctuations were examined. The field study was carried out in 2015 and 2016. For the clarification of the influence of environmental factors on L. loeselii as a non-destructive method, chlorophyll a fluorescence (maximum quantum efficiency of PSII—Fv/Fm) was used. The Fv/Fm parameter was significantly higher in 2016 than in 2015. However, statistical analysis did not show any correlation between dynamics of Fv/Fm parameter during 2015 or 2016 and changes in habitat water level, temperature, or sum of precipitation. It could be influenced by a significant decrease in the number of C. mariscus generative shoots and a significantly higher sum of precipitation, which affected habitat water-level difference between years. In addition, water-level fluctuations were different between years. In 2015, in corresponding time when Fv/Fm parameter measurements were obtained, the water level in the habitat fluctuated within 8 cm while in 2016 within 5 cm in range. This study showed that the chlorophyll a fluorescence (Fv/Fm parameter) of L. loeselii in European Union priority protected habitat 7210* Calcareous fens with Cladium mariscus and species of the Caricion davallianae was not affected by single dominant environmental factor. Fv/Fm parameter of L. loeselii is influenced by vegetation cover and habitat water level. Favourable conditions for growth of L. loeselii are provided by balanced water supply.

MEASUREMENT OF THE VARIATIONS OF THE PHASE OF A SIGNAL IS A DUALFREQUENCY RECEIVER RADIO NAVIGATION SYSTEM GLONASS, IN ORDER TO RECOGNIZE OBJECTS BASED ON THEIR RADAR PORTRAITS FOR MEDIA AND SYSTEM KKP

Proposals for constructing radio images of objects based on the synthesis of apertures are considered. The methods of radar recognition of space objects (QRs) are based on the deterministic model of the reflected signal. The deterministic model of the signal allows us to reproduce, without limitations, auxiliary signs used in the detection and recognition of targets (statistical parameters and generalized functions of signal realizations, etc.). It is necessary to obtain typical values of the parameters of the received signal for each typical structural element, and also to obtain a reliable signal reflected from the target for their comparison and classification. The necessary accuracy can only be achieved by collecting a large number of statistical information on the state of the radio path, the typical values of the signals for the reflecting elements of the structure, all this being compared and making a decision on the design of the QR. The processing of such a large amount of data can only be assigned with the help of neural networks. To increase the resolving power of measurements along the line of object movement (in azimuth), an artificial increase in the size of the antenna in the azimuth direction is used-the synthesis of the aperture. Synthesis of the aperture consists in the coherent accumulation of a series of signals reflected by the target while the object is in the antenna pattern. The range to the position of the radar relative to the moving object varies, as a result of which the phase of the reflected pulses changes. The coherent accumulation of reflected pulses during the formation of the synthesized aperture must take into account the indicated phase changes. The ionosphere is variable and the model does not always correctly describe its influence in a particular region, so monitoring the signals of the Glonass NS during radar experiments will increase the accuracy of measuring the coordinate information if the task of constructing radio images of the location objects is being posed. To obtain a high azimuth resolution, it is necessary to realize the so-called floodlight mode, when the antenna tracks the movement of the object, thereby increasing the time of its observation. Using ultra-wideband radar signals when working in floodlight mode allows to obtain a radar image with a resolution of up to 15 cm in range and 25 cm in azimuth.

BI-RADS 3-5 microcalcifications: prediction of lymph node metastasis of breast cancer.

PurposeTo determine whether the clinicopathological parameters and Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) 3–5 microcalcifications differed between lymph node positive (LN (+)) and lymph node negative (LN (−)) invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC).ResultsFor microcalcification-associated breast cancers, seven selected features (age, tumor size, Ki-67 status, lymphovascular invasion, calcification range, calcification diameter and calcification density) were significantly associated with LN status (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that three risk factors (age: older vs. younger OR: 0.973 P = 0.006, tumor size: larger vs. smaller OR: 1.671, P < 0.001 and calcification density: calcifications > 20/cm2 vs. calcifications ≤ 20/cm2 OR: 1.698, P < 0.001) were significant independent predictors. This model had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.701. The nodal staging (N0 and N1 χ2 = 5.701, P = 0.017; N0 and N2 χ2 = 6.614, P = 0.013) was significantly positively associated with calcification density. The luminal B subtype had the highest risk of LN metastasis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that calcification > 2 cm in range (OR: 2.209) and larger tumor size (OR: 1.882) were independently predictive of LN metastasis in the luminal B subtype (AUC = 0.667).Materials and MethodsMammographic images of 419 female breast cancer patients were included. Associations between the risk factors and LN status were evaluated using a Chi-square test, ANOVA and binary logistic regression analysis.ConclusionsThis study found that age, tumor size and calcifications density can be conveniently used to facilitate the preoperative prediction of LN metastasis. The luminal B subtype has the highest risk of LN metastasis among the microcalcification-associated breast cancers.

BI-RADS 3-5 microcalcifications can preoperatively predict breast cancer HER2 and Luminal a molecular subtype.

PurposeTo investigate associations between breast cancer molecular subtype and the patterns of mammographically detected calcifications.ResultsIdentified were 93 (19.1%) Luminal A, 242 (49.9%) Luminal B, 108 (22.2%) HER2 and 42 (8.7%) basal subtypes. In univariate analysis, the clinicopathological parameters and BI-RADS 3–5 microcalcifications, which consisted 9 selected features was significantly associated with breast cancer molecular subtype (all P < 0.05). Among subtypes, multivariate analysis showed that calcification >2 cm in range (OR: 1.878, 95% CI: 1.150 to 3.067) and calcification > 0.5 mm in diameter (OR:2.206, 95% CI: 1.235 to 3.323) was independently predictive of HER2 subtype. The model showed good discrimination for predicting HER2 subtype, with a C-index of 0.704. In addition, multivariate analysis showed that calcification morphology (amorphour or coarse heterogenous calcifications OR: 2.847, 95% CI: 1.526 to 5.312) was independently predictive of Luminal A subtype. The model showed good discrimination for predicting Luminal A subtype, with a C-index of 0.74. And we demonstrated that amorphour or coarse heterogenous calcifications were associated with a higher incidence of Luminal A subtype than pleomorphic or fine linear or branching calcifications. There was no significant difference between breast cancer subtypes (Luminal B vs. other; Basal vs. other) and the patterns of mammographically detected calcifications.Materials and MethodsMammographic images of 485 female patients were included. The correlation between mammographic imaging features and breast cancer subtype was analyzed using Chi-square test, univariate and binary logistic regression analysis.ConclusionsThis study shows that BI-RADS 3–5 microcalcifications can be conveniently used to facilitate the preoperative prediction of HER2 and Luminal A molecular subtype in patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma.

Continuously scanning time-correlated single-photon-counting single-pixel 3-D lidar

Time-correlated single-photon-counting (TCSPC) lidar provides very high resolution range measurements. This makes the technology interesting for three-dimensional imaging of complex scenes with targets behind foliage or other obscurations. TCSPC is a statistical method that demands integration of multiple measurements toward the same area to resolve objects at different distances within the instantaneous field-of-view. Point-by-point scanning will demand significant overhead for the movement, increasing the measurement time. Here, the effect of continuously scanning the scene row-by-row is investigated and signal processing methods to transform this into low-noise point clouds are described. The methods are illustrated using measurements of a characterization target and an oak and hazel copse. Steps between different surfaces of less than 5 cm in range are resolved as two surfaces.

Efficacy and safety of voriconazole and CYP2C19 polymorphism for optimised dosage regimens in patients with invasive fungal infections

The aim of this study was to determine an optimum voriconazole target concentration, to study the influence of CYP2C19 gene status on metabolism of voriconazole and to identify a dose-adjustment strategy for voriconazole according to CYP2C19 polymorphism in patients with invasive fungal infections. A total of 328 voriconazole trough plasma concentrations (Cmin) were collected and monitored from 144 patients. Information on efficacy and safety was obtained. Voriconazole therapy was effective in 81.9% of patients (118/144), and 12.5% (18/144) exhibited signs of hepatotoxicity. The relationships between voriconazole Cmin and clinical response and hepatotoxicity were explored using logistic regression, and a target clinical Cmin range of 1.5–4mg/L was identified. Values of voriconazole Cmin and the ratio of Cmin to concentration of voriconazole-N-oxide (Cmin/CN) of poor metabolisers (PMs) were significantly higher than extensive metabolisers and intermediate metabolisers. Model-based simulations showed that PM patients could be safely and effectively treated with 200mg twice daily orally or intravenously, and non-PM patients with 300mg twice daily orally or 200mg twice daily intravenously. This study highlighted that voriconazole Cmin and Cmin/CN are strongly influenced by CYP2C19 polymorphism, and gene-adjusted dosing is important to achieve therapeutic levels that maximise therapeutic response and minimise hepatotoxicity.

Analysis of thrombocytopenic effects and population pharmacokinetics of linezolid: a dosage strategy according to the trough concentration target and renal function in adult patients

The pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) index for the efficacy of linezolid is a 24-h area under the plasma drug concentration–time curve (AUC24)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ratio of ≥100. The main adverse event associated with administration of linezolid is thrombocytopenia. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to define PD thresholds that would minimise linezolid-induced thrombocytopenia and to perform a population PK analysis to identify factors influencing the pharmacokinetics of linezolid. Population PK analysis revealed that creatinine clearance (CLCr) significantly affected linezolid pharmacokinetics: the mean parameter estimate of drug clearance (CL; in L/h)=0.0258×CLCr+2.03. A strong correlation (r=0.970) was found between AUC24 and trough plasma concentrations (Cmin) [AUC24=18.2×Cmin+134.4]. The Cmin value for AUC24=200 (in the case of MIC=2μg/mL) was estimated to be 3.6μg/mL. Regarding safety, Cmin was a significant predictor of thrombocytopenia during treatment, and its threshold to minimise linezolid-induced thrombocytopenia was 8.2μg/mL. A Kaplan–Meier plot revealed that the median time from initiation of therapy to the development of thrombocytopenia was 15 days. Therefore, the target Cmin range was 3.6–8.2μg/mL. The following formula to achieve a target Cmin in patients with different degrees of renal function was proposed based on these results: initial daily dose (mg/day)=CL×AUC24=(0.0258×CLCr+2.03)×(18.2×Cmin+134.4). This recommended initial dosage and subsequent dosage adjustment for the target concentration range should avoid adverse events, thereby enabling effective linezolid-based therapies to be continued.

SU-E-T-571: Microdosimetric Characterization of Proton Biological Effectiveness

Purpose: The knowledge of cell repair kinetics is critical in order to understand relevant aspects of proton therapy such optimal fractionation. High LET radiation induces larger proportions of more complex DSBs that might not be resolved in standard interfractional times (24h). We propose a method to characterize the cell repair kinetic at different positions within the spread-out Bragg peak (i.e. as a function of proton LETd) and use this information to model normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) as a function of LETd Methods: Repair kinetics curves will be obtained using U251-glioblastoma cells plating over microscope slides that are immersed in culture-medium that will be exposed along the axis of a proton-beam (10cm in range, 2cm modulation) of 1Gy. Culture is immersed within a solid-water block to place the distal edge of the proton-beam within the slide. gamma-H2AX foci along the slide in the beam axis is imaged with a microscope at different positions in order to correlate number of gamma-H2AX foci with dose and LET, where dose is obtained from a strip of gafchromic film placed on the side of the slide. Each slide is fixed at different time points. Results: We will present the correlation between an increase of LET and the increase of the gamma-H2AX along the depth within the proton beam, at different post-irradiation times and doses. Different fractions of unrepaired damage at 24h after irradiation will be presented at each depth of the proton beam, with larger fractions at the distal edge of the beam, where normal tissue exist. Larger values of NTCP are therefore observed at the distal edge. Conclusion: Slower repair kinetics is observed at the distal edge of a proton beam, and this study shows a method to obtain such information and the correlation between increased LET and increased NTCP. This research is supported by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania as a pilot project.

Study on a Two-Dimensional Scanning Micro-Mirror and Its Application in a MOEMS Target Detector

A two-dimensional (2D) scanning micro-mirror for target detection and measurement has been developed. This new micro-mirror is used in a MOEMS target detector to replace the conventional scanning detector. The micro-mirror is fabricated by MEMS process and actuated by a piezoelectric actuator. To achieve large deflection angles, the micro-mirror is excited in the resonance modes. It has two degrees of freedom and changes the direction of the emitted laser beam for a regional 2D scanning. For the deflection angles measurement, piezoresistors are integrated in the micro-mirror and the deflection angles of each direction can be detected independently and precisely. Based on the scanning micro-mirror and the phase-shift ranging technology, a MOEMS target detector has been developed in a size of 90 mm × 35 mm × 50 mm. The experiment shows that the target can be detected in the scanning field and the relative range and orientation can be measured by the MOEMS target detector. For the target distance up to 3 m with a field of view about 20° × 20°, the measurement resolution is about 10.2 cm in range, 0.15° in the horizontal direction and 0.22° in the vertical direction for orientation.

Relativistic models for the BepiColombo radioscience experiment

AbstractTo test General Relativity with the tracking data of the BepiColombo Mercury orbiter we need relativistic models for the orbits of Mercury and of the Earth, for the light-time and for all the spatio-temporal reference frames involved, with accuracy corresponding to the measurements: ≃10 cm in range, ≃2 micron/s in range-rate, over 2 years.For the dynamics we start from the Lagrangian post-Newtonian (PN) formulation, using a relativistic equation for the solar system barycenter to avoid rank deficiency. In the determination of the PN parameters, the difficulty in disentangling the effects of β from the ones of the Sun's oblateness is confirmed. We have found a consistent formulation for the preferred frame effects, although the center of mass is not an integral. For the identification of strong equivalence principle (SEP) violations we use a formulation containing both direct and indirect effects (through the modified position of the Sun in a barycentric frame).In the light-time equations, the Shapiro effect is modeled to PN order 1 but with an order 2 correction compatible with (Moyer 2003). The 1.5-PN order corrections containing the Sun's velocity are not relevant at the required level of accuracy.To model the orbit of the probe, we use a mercury-centric reference frame with its own “Mercury Dynamic Time”: this is the largest and the only relativistic correction required, taking into account the major uncertainties introduced by non-gravitational perturbations.A delicate issue is the compatibility of our solution with the ephemerides for the other planets, and for the Moon, which cannot be improved by the BepiColombo data alone. Conversely, we plan to later export the BepiColombo measurements, as normal points, to contribute with their unprecedented accuracy to the global improvement of the planetary ephemerides.

A scalable, on‐board localisation and communication system for indoor multi‐robot experiments

We describe the first prototypes of an inter‐robot infrared localisation and communication system. The system detects the relative positions (both range and bearing) of autonomous mobile robots with an update rate of up to 20 Hz, a range of up to 3 m and an accuracy of 40 cm for range and 45° for bearing. In addition, each robot can send at least 1 byte of data to all the other robots within the range per update cycle. Flocking on a group of eight robots is used as a non‐trivial real‐world test of this system. We conclude the paper by discussing advantages, limitations, and future improvements of the system.

Source model for the 2001 flank eruption of Mt. Etna volcano

Using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) we constrain the deformation sources for the July–August 2001 flank eruption of Mt. Etna volcano, Italy. InSAR data from ascending and descending passes of the ERS2 satellite reveal a pattern of deformation that cannot be explained by a dike intrusion alone. In addition to a vertical dike beneath the south rift zone, the spatially large (10 km scale, 15–20 cm in range) negative range displacement lobes across the western (descending data) and eastern (ascending data) flanks require a nearly symmetric set of shallowly dipping normal faults to each side of the central dike. Complexity in the observed InSAR surface displacements constrains an additional dike intrusion beneath its NE flank. Long‐term deformation of Etna's eastern and southern flanks is well established through field and InSAR observations. Therefore, the relative symmetry of motion beneath both the western and eastern flanks during the 2001 eruption is surprising. Our model of symmetric flank motion suggests that on the short time scales of a large dike intrusion volcanoes can deform differently from their long‐term deformation.